HOSPITAL of SAMPSON

When Hagia Eirene and Hagia Sophia were destroyed by fire during the Nika Riot in 532, also the Hospital of Sampson burned down, which lay between them, and was subsequently restored by emperor Justinian. Remains of this large building with a colonnaded courtyard were excavated south of Hagia Eirene after World War II.
Sampson, its founder, lived probably in the late fourth century and was perhaps a supporter of the heresy of Arianism. The later Byzantine tradition, however, makes him a contemporary of emperor Justinian.
The Hospital of Sampson formed a complex together with the Hagia Sophia, Hagia Eirene and some other subsidiary building, and it was served by the same clergy.